Character Analysis: Their Eyes Were Watching God

Ever since Janie was young, she had always longed for love. Their Eyes Were Watching God, is clearly a love story. Whether it is the lack of love that was given to her by her nanny, or from any other source of love given to her during her three relationships. Each of her marriages brought her a new found sense of what love really is and strengthen her thoughts that you do not have to love someone to marry them. At the beginning, Janie was forced to marry at sixteen and believed that love and marriage came hand in hand. However, as the story goes on, she finds out how wrong she is. Janie’s first husband’s name is Logan Killick. Logan is old and homely. Janie is pinicle of beauty, so as a reader, it is confusing why she would be with someone

Janie is first interested in Joe because of his looks, which is a total three-sixty from her past marriage with Logan Killick. During their marriage, Janie quickly learns that Joe is self-centered and likes to think of him self as in charge, and loves feeling impowered. Joe see’s Janie as a possession that he can show off for her beauty. When it comes to intelect and love, those feelings and traits are not relevant. In chapter 6, Joe says, “'I god, Janie,’ Starks said impatiently, ‘why don’t you go on and see whut Mrs. Bogle want? Whut you waitin’ on?’” (6.168). Joe made Janie go check on Mrs. Bogle, in the middle of the play because, in his mind, he is more entitled to entertainment than she is. Since he is the man, he should be able to sit through and watch the end of the play, right? Janie’s relationship with Joe made her long to be independent and free. Janie wanted to be with someone who made her feel loved, and let her speak her

Tea Cake is younger than Janie. With that being said, he also is less mature than the other two men she had been with up to this point. He made her have fun, and made her feel light. Tea-Cake is Janie’s one true love. After being so weighed down by the previous men in her life, Janie learns to love his free spirit, even if it sometimes was pure immaturity. Tea Cake loves Janie. He listens to her, and supports her emotionally and financially which is something Joe, and Logan did not do. In chapter 13 Tea Cake tells Janie she is the only woman he could ever love, “Don’t never consider dat no mo’. If Ah ever gits tuh messin’ round another woman it won’t be on account of her age. It’ll be because she got me in de same way you got me – so Ah can’t help mahself" (13.26). Unfortunately Tea Cake gets extremely sick in the end of the novel, and Janie is forced to kill